Hope Has a Name: With Bible Study Fellowshipنموونە

This Plan’s Format

Studying the Bible is often a struggle. We wrestle to go beyond knowledge and experience transformational truth—truth that refills our faith, refreshes our souls, and reforms our actions. Use our four-part study method to open your heart to God. Learn how to live out biblical truth in daily circumstances and walk more closely with God. This course invites you to:

… Connect with God through Bible reading.

… Inform your thoughts through insightful questions.

… Deepen your faith with in-depth notes on the passage.

… Encourage action by listening to trustworthy teaching on days 5 and 10.

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​The Only Messiah

Who is Jesus Christ, and what has He done? Calendars mark a holiday commonly called Easter. You probably know this is when Christians celebrate Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. Our Savior rose to life from the dead in His physical body. This miracle happened the third day after He was crucified for our sins and buried. Yet maybe you are like some churchgoers, others in your community, and many global neighbors. Maybe you wonder: What really happened? How can I be sure this story is true? Why does sharing Jesus’s story matter today?

It’s been almost two thousand years since people saw the resurrected Jesus. His earthly ministry took place in an ancient culture with a history unfamiliar to most of us. Over time, we’ve lost touch with what those days were like. However, after that first Easter Sunday, Jesus’s long-time disciples, new Christian converts, and even His enemies were wondering the same things we question today.

The Bible’s Answers

This study places us in the action to answer our questions about Jesus. We’ll go back in time to follow the disciples through Matthew’s account of Jesus’s final days on earth. But first, we’ll immerse ourselves in their culture, pressures, and perspective through Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

In Acts 7, the gospel writer Luke recounts Stephen’s false arrest and trial. His judges are the same group who had condemned Jesus to death. When the high priest asks, “Are these charges true?” Stephen starts with Old Testament stories—their shared family history of God’s care for Israel. He shows how the whole Bible points to Jesus’s identity and work, proving He is the Messiah, our only hope.

Our Only Hope

Stephen’s faithful witness and Matthew’s evidence show believers what God promises, and the Resurrection proves: Jesus is every person’s only hope in life and at death. The Resurrection proves Jesus is who He says He is, as recorded in the Bible. In fact, His victorious deed applies God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation to every human heart with one word—hope!

Through God’s Spirit and Word, we can live boldly for Jesus in our cultures and personal circumstances. Where else are you looking for what only God can give? Only Jesus satisfies our essential needs, desires, and purpose. Will you ask God to help you magnify the biblical Jesus in the days ahead? His story is worth devoting our lives to retelling, and His life provides cause for celebration every day.

Questions

1. Scan this week’s chapter, focusing on 7:37-39 and 7:52. What do these few verses summarize about the Bible, God, people, and our only real hope?

2. Stephen’s speech recaps Israel’s history and its story of hope. What key people, events, or thoughts about God come to mind when you think of the Old Testament? How do these relate to Jesus Christ’s life and work?